Calamity-hit schools skip PCCL

PROVINCES reeling from recent calamities begged off from the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) games as the tournament’s Southern Islands Championship has also been moved to Cebu City Coliseum on Nov. 18 to 20.

Varsity squads from Leyte and Bohol skipped the Visayas qualifiers due to the earthquake and supertyphoon that hit the region and left a devastating aftermath.

The Southern Islands Championship, where the winner will earn a spot in the PCCL Final Four, has been transferred to Cebu as the Ormoc City Sports Dome was also among the infrastructures damaged by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

“We are thankful for all the preparations made by Ormoc City,” said PCCL executive director Joe Lipa. “However, at this time they have more serious situations to attend to.”

Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. champion University of Visayas has been tagged as favorite in the Southern Islands Championship, the Visayas-Mindanao division of the stepladder Sweet 16.

Other teams that earned berths are Mindanao’s STI-Cagayan de Oro and Holy Trinity College of General Santos City and the Visayas’ Iloilo Doctors College, Southwestern University and University of San Carlos.

UAAP champion La Salle already gained outright entry to the Final Four along with the NCAA Finals winner between San Beda and Letran.  Jasmine W. Payo